The Blue Robe Old Man said, "I only noticed it afterward, when I was cleaning up Chang'an Realm. Two lines of poetry were carved into the ground: 'One day, I'll think of Chang'an—though really, I'm only thinking of someone in Chang'an.' Tsk, tsk. What female cultivator could resist such sickeningly sweet words? What a pity about Xu Yanzhi. Such a fine talent, yet she was deceived by that fellow."
The Red Robe Middle-aged Man rolled those two lines over and over in his mouth. "What a 'someone in Chang'an'! How does that man's brain work? He deserves to have stumbled upon such an opportunity. But speaking of which, Xu Yanzhi's rampage nearly weeded out every one of those promising talents, and she's made enemies left and right. Even if they give her an Immortal Official post, she won't be able to hold on to it."
The Blue Robe Old Man sighed languidly. "Such is the hour, such is fate. The strong sink, the weak survive. Destiny is so hard to fathom. Sometimes I even wonder whether all our painstaking cultivation has any meaning at all."
The Red Robe Middle-aged Man said, "The Great Dao's heartlessness is what makes it worthy of our devotion. If even the Heavenly Dao couldn't regard all things equally, then seeking the Great Dao would be a dreary business indeed. All right, we've been idle long enough. We should get to work. The written and martial trials are over; it's time to rank the candidates."
The Blue Robe Old Man said, "I really envy these fish that have turned into dragons. Back when we passed the grand examination, most of us were assigned some little Subordinate Ninth Rank post. Now, even the very last candidate in the second class can be granted the Principal Ninth Rank